Evidence
FNI has not run a full cohort reporting cycle yet, so there are no FNI outcome figures on this page. What is here instead: the published evidence of need behind each program, the framework we will report against once cohorts run, and the policies that govern how we work.
FNI has not yet completed a cohort reporting cycle, so there are no FNI outcome figures on this site. What follows is the published evidence of need behind each program, drawn from government and peer-reviewed sources. Every figure carries its publication so you can check it.
Roadmap Planner
62%
by 2031
Closing the Gap Target 8 aims to lift the share of First Nations people aged 25–64 in employment to 62 per cent by 2031. The Productivity Commission assesses the target as not on track, and employment is among the outcome areas recorded as worsening.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap; Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation Report, July 2025
Blueprint for Success
6×
treatment rate
In 2024–25 First Nations people were more than six times as likely to receive alcohol and other drug treatment as non-Indigenous Australians — 3,125 per 100,000 against 457, age-standardised. The AIHW notes the true figure is likely higher, as most First Nations-specific services do not report to the national collection.
AIHW, Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia: early insights 2024–25
Timelines
27×
detention rate
First Nations young people were 27 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be in detention in 2022–23, and around 84 per cent of those in detention were unsentenced — held before a matter is decided. Target 11, a 30 per cent cut in youth detention by 2031, recorded no change from its baseline in the July 2025 data.
AIHW, Closing the Gap targets: key findings and implications, 2025; Productivity Commission, Annual Data Compilation Report, July 2025
Lifeways to Leadership
$4.0b
a year
Alcohol use alone is estimated to cost Australian workplaces around $4.0 billion a year, with absenteeism accounting for close to 90 per cent of that cost. One in ten workers report being affected by a colleague’s drinking.
NCETA, Flinders University; Whetton et al., National Drug Research Institute; Alcohol and Drug Foundation
101 Alcohol and Other Drugs
1 in 5
clients
Around one in five people receiving treatment for their own alcohol or drug use in Australia is a First Nations person. The publicly funded AOD workforce has grown 66 per cent in a decade to 1,316 agencies — a lot of frontline staff who need shared, plain language.
AIHW, Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report 2024–25
Living in Two Worlds
PR3
National Agreement
Priority Reform Three commits governments to identify and eliminate institutional racism and to embed meaningful cultural safety across mainstream institutions — hospitals, police, courts, prisons and agencies. Progress is measured partly by whether First Nations people report feeling culturally safe dealing with them.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap, Priority Reform Three; Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Information Repository
Two things FNI can evidence today, ahead of the first cohort reporting cycle.
The Goori House addiction treatment centre in Brisbane, founded by John Close, ran culturally relevant programs with dedicated Indigenous staff and recorded completion rates three times higher than the sector average.
Source: FNI founder record, Goori House, Brisbane.
FNI built its own case management platform to implement the program, cut administrative overhead and generate reports and statistical information per cohort.
Attendance, completion and statistical reporting for each cohort is generated from this system.
At FNI Education, we care about Country, community, families, and people who are often doing it tough within existing service systems. As an Indigenous family-run business, we are committed to delivering our work in a way that is safe, accountable, culturally grounded, and focused on long-term improvement for the people and services we support.
Our commitment is underpinned by clear policies that guide how we operate, protect people, manage information, and meet our responsibilities as a professional service provider.
A client-focused evaluation matrix designed to measure individual outcomes, service accountability, cultural security and continuous improvement.
Physical and emotional wellbeing · Conditions and behaviours · Personal resources and functioning
Resource utilisation review · Key process and systems review · Internal and external client review
Client and workforce development · Family and community integration · Service and resource development
Cultural awareness and competence · Partnership approaches · Leadership
Demographics
Information about the people and communities we serve.
Outcomes
Measurable changes and results achieved.
The performance indicators linked to these quadrants measure individual health outcomes and service accountability, while also capturing qualitative data on appropriateness, responsiveness, accessibility, capability, continuity, sustainability and community acceptance.
Copies of these policies are available on request. Please contact us by email and we will provide the relevant policy for your records.
